Traveling Exhibitions Manager at Art Bridges Foundation
Job Title: Traveling Exhibitions Manager
Job Status: Full-time
Location: Bentonville, AR
Salary $60,000 to $75,000
Art Bridges seeks a driven, collaborative, and detail-oriented emerging professional to join our growing team. The Traveling Exhibitions Manager will support the Collection Loans and Exhibitions Department and the foundation’s strategic initiatives. This position is ideal for an individual who enjoys hands-on learning, developing processes, and finding efficiencies to support long-term goals.
Art Bridges is committed to providing pathways for the next generation, especially for people from historically underrepresented groups in the arts. The Traveling Exhibitions Manager will be committed to advancing Art Bridges’ diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) priorities.
Applications must include an updated resume and a cover letter that explains how previous experiences have prepared you for this role and why this position aligns with your career goals. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
About Art Bridges
Art Bridges is the vision of philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton. The mission of Art Bridges is to expand access to American art in all regions across the nation. Since 2017, Art Bridges has been creating and supporting programs that bring outstanding works of American art out of storage and into communities. Art Bridges partners with a growing network of nearly 220 museums of all sizes and locations to provide financial and strategic support for exhibition development, loans from the Art Bridges collection, and programs designed to educate, inspire, and deepen engagement with local audiences. The Art Bridges Collection represents an expanding vision of American art from the 19th century to present day and encompasses multiple media and voices.
About the position
The Traveling Exhibitions Manager will manage traveling exhibition projects by seeing them through tour preparation and scheduling, the on-view period, and the completion of the tour. You will aggregate, develop, and disseminate exhibition materials to internal and external stakeholders, foster collaboration and collegiality among stakeholders, manage and communicate overall project timelines and deliverables, ensure contract compliance, manage project budgets, and support our partners as needed. This position works closely with Art Bridges curators, registrars, and outside exhibition teams to develop and implement efficient systems to facilitate the exchange of exhibitions between institutions.
Responsibilities
- Manages planning and logistics, and provides customer service for multiple, overlapping traveling exhibitions
- Hires, supervises, mentors, coaches, and provides professional development opportunities for direct reports
- Assesses, prioritizes, assigns, and manages department workflow including implementation and delegation of the responsibilities outlined below
- Adapts and reviews contracts for Art Bridges, and monitors organizing partners and venues to ensure obligations are met in an appropriate and timely manner
- Develops, communicates, and tracks schedules and budgets
- Tracks spending against project budgets, makes suggestions for keeping projects on budget, and alerts Art Bridges staff and partner institutions to potential budget issues
- Markets exhibitions and secures venues; develops and implements tour schedules
- Collaborates with internal and external colleagues to assemble exhibition prospectuses and project contents (i.e., text, interpretives, A/V media, and design plans) and provides them to partners in a cohesive, easily understandable, and actionable package
- Collaborates closely with internal and external colleagues
- Schedules timely meetings, prepares agendas, and facilitates positive and productive meetings
- Manages project budgets, and generates financial reports as requested; ensures project-related invoices and payments are handled in a timely manner
- Support exhibition venues with funding application reviews and budget feedback.
- Supervise Art Bridges Interns
- Perform other duties as assigned
Attributes that support your success
- Passion for expanding access to American art
- Eagerness to join a new and growing organization and the dynamism that involves
- Ability and interest in working with people from diverse backgrounds, including age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, and lived experiences
- Positive attitude, collaborative spirit, and sense of humor
- Talent to manage multiple projects simultaneously
- High degrees of initiative and discretion
Qualifications and skills
- Bachelor’s degree in art history, museum studies, arts or business administration, communications, or equivalent degree/experience. Master’s degree is preferred.
- 4+ years of progressively responsible experience in exhibition project management, preferably in an art, culture, and/or nonprofit environment
- 2+ years of experience hiring, mentoring, coaching and supervising staff
- Experience managing budgets
- Experience assisting with art handling and installation, understanding of condition reporting processes, familiarity with gallery layouts
- Knowledge of current museum best practices
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications: Word, Excel and PowerPoint are required
- Ability to efficiently manage several exhibitions and projects simultaneously
- Experience with FileMaker, Microsoft Project, and scheduling/project management software is preferred
- Experience with or the ability to quickly learn specialized financial and project management software systems is required, such as TMS, PowerPlan, Workday, and Wrike
- Professional and approachable, with excellent communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills
- Detail oriented with strong organizational skills
- Ability to work independently and with diverse personalities
- Ability to understand and maintain the highest levels of confidentiality and discretion
- Ability to travel domestically as needed to support art exhibitions
Physical demands and work environment
The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Physical demands: Position requires utilizing a computer and telephone for prolonged periods of time, good eye/hand coordination, verbal, and written conversation with others, and lifting/carrying up to 30 lbs. Vision abilities required by the job include close vision.
Work environment: Work will be performed in an office environment, museum spaces, and in communities served. Occasional evening and weekend hours may be required. Work hours during normal activities are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. in the Art Bridges offices. The noise level in the work environment is typically low to moderate. Some overnight travel may be necessary.
Vaccination policy
In accordance with our duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards, and to do our part in safeguarding the health of our co-workers and their families as well as the community at large from COVID-19 that will be reduced by vaccination, we are requiring all Art Bridges staff and interns to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by their start date as a condition of employment. According to the CDC, “fully vaccinated” means it has been two weeks since a person received the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna or the single dose of Johnson & Johnson.
In accordance with all federal, state, and local rules and regulations, Art Bridges recognizes that there may be certain circumstances exempting an employee from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Employees in need of an exemption from this policy due to a disability, advice of a medical provider, or religious beliefs inconsistent with vaccination, must contact the HR group at AWE to initiate the interactive review process within the deadlines expressed in this policy.
We strongly hope this policy decision will help to change the current landscape of infection rates in our community by creating a sense of urgency and proactivity. Our desire is to continue to fulfill our vision of transforming lives through Art Bridges mission. To do this, our priority is to create a safe workplace.
Art Bridges and DEAI
At Art Bridges, diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are central to all work and decisions within our organization. We support our colleagues and our partners in learning and growing together to make this important work part of our daily lives.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Art Bridges is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building and maintaining a culturally diverse workplace that is free of discrimination and harassment of any kind. We encourage women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.
Contingencies
All offers of employment are contingent on your successful completion (where permitted by state law) of a confidentiality agreement, background check, and verification of being fully vaccinated for COVID-19. In addition, you will need to provide proper identification verifying your eligibility to work in the United States on your first day of work.
Applications must include an updated resume and a cover letter that explains how previous experiences have prepared you for this role and why this position aligns with your career goals. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.